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The First Two Years at the Wawel Castle. The Origin of the Conflict Over Marshal Józef Piłsudski's Coffin (1935-1937)

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Sioma M.

Pamięć i Sprawiedliwość

2021

issue 2

322-346

The death of Poland’s First Marshal was used by his adherents for political purposes. Piłsudski’s funeral ceremonies constituted an unprecedented and symbolic event aimed at highlighting his greatness and merits and portraying him as one of Poland’s most distinguished citizens. The ceremonies continued for a few days (and the national mourning for six weeks). The Chief Committee for the Remembrance of Marshal Józef Piłsudski was set up with a view to honouring the Marshal and his deeds. The Committee’s efforts were coordinated by the Executive Department (the WWNK), whose main task was to make sure that the coffin with Piłsudski would be deposited in the crypt under the Tower of the Silver Bells. Because of the scope of work to be carried out in the Wawel Cathedral, constituting property of the Catholic Church, the task was extremely difficult to carry out. It did not take long before it became clear that the goals pursued by both sides (secular and ecclesiastical one) were significantly different. The divergence of opinions led to the conflict that broke out almost immediately after Piłsudski’s body had been deposited in the coffin, and continued until 1937. This article deals with the origin of the conflict which has so far received little attention from scholars, who have focused mainly on the events which, taking place in June and July 1937, formed the most important part of it. Analysis of the source material has enabled the reconstruction of the events from 1935–1937, thus ensuring the possibility of looking at the issue from a new perspective and explaining the reasons for the escalation of the dispute over Piłsudski’s coffin. As shown in the article, the irresponsibility of Piłsudski’s adherents on the one hand, and Archbishop Sapieha’s obstinacy on the other, led to one of the greatest social crises in the inter-war Poland. The author takes his account to 23 June 1937, that is, to the point where the conflict got out of the cabinets of those directly involved in it and became a public issue. The author’s aim in this article was also to reproduce the whole process leading to the outbreak of the conflict in 1937, and to show the role played in it by particular individuals whose behaviour and attitude created a situation in which none of the sides felt responsible for the conflict’s outbreak and none was prepared to make any concessions. The conflict was brought to an end after months of efforts involving the President of the Polish Republic and both Polish and Vatican diplomacies. It is hard to say how it affected the public. It certainly affected the way in which Archbishop Sapieha was perceived. Suffice it say that some demanded that he should be imprisoned in the Bereza Kartuska prison.

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1 Pamięć i Sprawiedliwość

1 Sioma M.

1 2021

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The First Two Years at the Wawel Castle. The Origin of the Conflict Over Marshal Józef Piłsudski's Coffin (1935-1937)